Tag Archives: hydrofracking

I don’t understand how our governor can push for marriage equality while determining that otherwise there are two classes of citizens in New York: those who get to drink safe water and those who don’t.

We in Syracuse, apparently, are First Class Citizens, along with those living in New York City. The rest of you living in the Marcellus Shale area, too bad! You’re Second Class and therefore not worthy of protection.

Cartoon from Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County

Hmm… if protection is needed for two aquifers, then that’s admitting that all the other aquifers in the Marcellus Shale area are potentially unsafe. And therefore that the practice of hydrofracking is unsafe.

So who is benefiting from hydrofracking? Must be the ones who are going to make the money who don’t live within the Marcellus Shale area. Looks like folks in Albany. Of course. And a few out-of-towners who brought this nightmare to us.

It was revealed today that Governor Cuomo proposes to allow Marcellus Shale horizontal hydrofracturing to proceed in New York with the exception of the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, State lands and primary aquifers. See: http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/75403.html

His proposal is clearly an admission that Marcellus Shale horizontal hydrofracturing is inherently unsafe no matter what safeguards DEC might adopt in its revised draft SGEIS. Otherwise, the Governor would not propose to ban the practice in selected areas.

The Governor’s proposal would break his campaign promise that “existing watersheds are sacrosanct and Andrew Cuomo would not support any drilling that would threaten the State’s major sources of drinking water.”

As you will see from the map below, major sources of drinking water comprise 75% of the Marcellus Shale formation. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers drink unfiltered water from private and public wells as well as surface waters throughout that area. Those residents deserve the same protection proposed for residents of New York City and Syracuse.

Any DEC regulatory plan that fails to provide equal protection for all New Yorkers must be rejected as totally unacceptable. We have at least three months to try to kill the Governor’s fundamentally unfair plan.

The revised draft SGEIS will not be posted for public review until 7/8/11. The public comment period will reportedly begin sometime in August and will last 60 days.

Please note that Governor Cuomo’s proposal cannot be implemented until a FINAL SGEIS is adopted. That should still be a long time in coming. With luck, at least a year from now.

Finally, the Governor’s proposal calls into question the integrity of his efforts to revise the draft SGEIS pursuant to Executive Order No. 41 since he has already decided to allow Marcellus Shale horizontal hydrofracturing to proceed no matter how inadequate the revised draft SGEIS might be.

B. If Marcellus Shale Hydrofracturing cannot be done safely in New York City and Syracuse watersheds, state lands and over primary aquifers, it obviously cannot be done safely anywhere in New York.
C. Send the draft SGEIS back to the drawing board for yet another do-over.

The chips are down. We have at least three months to thwart Governor Cuomo’s inadequate and unfair proposal.

Radioactivity in the air or in the water is something neither we nor the Japanese ever thought we’d have to face. Nuclear reactors in earthquake zones suddenly don’t make sense. Did hydro-fracking ever make sense? Your presence at Tuesday’s rally will make a difference (see below). Please read the following (bolding mine):

Lifton Calls For Public Hearing on Hydrofracking and Release of DEC Documents

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WF- 125th AD) today has called for a public hearing and for the release of all documents exchanged between NYS DEC and the federal EPA on High-volume Hydrofracking (HVHF) from 2007, when concerns were first raised about HVHF in New York, through the current SGEIS process. Lifton said these actions are warranted based on new reporting by The New York Times on the issue of HVHF, its impact on drinking water in Pennsylvania, especially, and the disposal of flowback water in New York.

“The investigation done by New York Times raises fresh alarm about the issues I and many others have raised regarding the nature of the flowback wastewater from hydrofracking, its treatment and disposal, and the potential danger to public health,” said Lifton.

“We need to stop and ask questions about the EPA and industry research that highlights the inability of wastewater treatment plants to adequately process flowback from hydrofracking, and about whether the EPA adequately shared the results of their 2009 investigation of the Monongahela River disaster which resulted in Pittsburgh’s 850,000 residents having to drink bottled water, described by the EPA as ‘one of the largest failures in U.S. history to supply clean drinking water to the public,’” Lifton continued. Lifton said the issue of elevated levels of radioactivity of the flowback wastewater is one of many critical areas that needs immediate attention, as the EPA found that, even after treatment, discharged wastewater with dangerous levels of radiation contamination posed a great risk to drinking water.

“We must not allow for the contamination of NY’s critical fresh water resources. Gathering information to fully understand the risks of hydrofracking is critical in crafting the best public policy in New York, if, indeed, drilling is allowed to occur. We simply cannot allow the kind of disasters that have happened in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to happen here in New York State. The health of all New Yorkers hangs in the balance,” Lifton emphasized.

The Syracuse March 22, 2011 Rally to Protect NYS from Radioactive Fracking Waste is part of a statewide movement.

Rally to Protect NYS from Radioactive Fracking Waste

Tuesday, March 22nd
5:30 – 6:15 pm
Thornden Park Water Tower

Thornden Park, off of Beech St. and Ostrom, near SU
Call 470-0778

Call for clean, safe water, air and food

No to Hydro-FrackingNo to radioactive and hazardous waste which is freely released, untracked and unmonitoredYes to conservation and truly sustainable energy policy and production